Tagmeme

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In tagmemic linguistics, the tagmeme is the smallest functional element in the grammatical structure of a language. It is the correlation of a syntagmatic function (e.g. subject, object) and paradigmatic fillers (e.g. nouns, pronouns, or proper nouns as possible fillers of the subject position). Tagmemes combine to form syntagmemes.

In tagmemics, the hierarchical organization of levels (e.g. in syntax: word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, discourse) results from the fact that the elements of a tagmeme on a higher level (e.g. 'sentence') are analyzed as syntagmemes on the next lower level (e.g. 'phrase').